Hyperpop: The future of music?

Hyperpop is really weird, but I can’t stop listening to it.

When I first heard it, I thought it would be the last time, glad I tried it out but not something I’d come back to. But, there was something parasitic about how off-put yet fascinated I was with the way hyperpop songs were. They soon were stuck in my head until I decided to give into the abrasiveness. And now, it’s on my daily rotation.

Over the pandemic, everyone’s been on the search for fresh and exciting music. Replaying the same songs on your year-old Spotify playlist can get mind-numbing. However, the “hyperpop” genre is one that will both satisfy your yearn for new music and throw you out of your comfort zone.

The foundations of hyperpop include heavily edited and high pitched vocals over an intense brain-bending tempo — and it’s usually adorned with loud, yet on beat, clangs. When I first heard these intense sounds stringed together into songs, I was arguably shocked and claimed I’d never listen to this stuff unironically (emphasis on unironically).

Hyperpop isn’t new, but it’s display on wider platforms is, and I believe Tiktok is to blame. This app has been used to get some relatively unknown artists on full display — 100 Gecs used to be a niche Soundcloud group. 

The extreme experimental factor of 100 Gecs and their shameless music has brought many people to find other artists with similar music like Arca, Charli XCX (who recently departed from pop to hyperpop) and Dorian Electra.

The genre is very fluid, letting each artist have their own unique take on what hyperpop is. Instead of them just having the signature vocaloid sound to make it hyperpop, many of these songs just coincidentally have it. Each artist brings something completely authentic to the genre.

An example of this relentless authenticity is Arca’s most recent release “KiCk i.” They bring their signature cyber and metallic sounds and mix them with some Columbian flare — their nationality. This combination results in a grossly infatuating mix of tango and rapid intense metallic notes. Those two types of music blended together don’t seem like they would mesh, but Arca — like many other similar hyperpop artists — found a way. 

Another standout beauty of their albums are the artists’ displays of themselves. In their album “KiCk i,” Arca gave a slight nod to their gender identity in the second track titled “non-binary.” While they decided to publicize this information, it’s only a tiny fragment of their body of work. Some hyperpop artists express themselves in their psychosis inducing work, because more often than not, the music does more of the talking than the actual lyrics.

This is not the case for every artist however. Sometimes their art can have a deeper meaning and sometimes it can just be an excuse to have a headbanger with irregular beats. This makes it all the more exciting, because there isn’t any right or wrong way to enjoy hyperpop — you can appreciate all facets of it. Sometimes you want to hear about Charli XCX’s love life and other times you want to hear Alice Longyu Gao talk about drinking her “Rich B*tch Juice.”

Hyperpop is the way of the future, allowing artists of every background to produce music that can both enchant and disgust your passion for music. I suggest everyone give it a try because sooner than later, there’s going to be a lot more 100 Gec’s in your life — or not, I’m not psychic.